Chapter 419: You pathetic little humans...

Chapter 419: You pathetic little humans…

Mia just shot him a glance, didn’t say a word, and kept walking down the slope, heading off to keep clearing out the zombies in San Diego.

“Man, she’s ice cold…” Big Ears muttered under his breath.

Still, he was just glad to be alive. The place still felt crazy dangerous, so he didn’t dare stick around. He quickly turned and started backing away…

…

Meanwhile, Mist, Shrimpy, and Locomotive were still sprinting like hell, but after a while, they noticed something weird—there was no sound behind them. It was like the zombies chasing them had just… vanished.

“Hold up… stop for a sec,” Locomotive called out.

The other two skidded to a halt.

“What’s up?”

“It’s quiet. Too quiet,” Locomotive said, frowning.

Mist glanced over his shoulder, looking just as puzzled. “Yeah, where the hell did all those zombies go? They were right on our asses.”

“No idea…” Shrimpy shook his head.

Locomotive thought for a second, then suggested, “Maybe we should head back and check it out?”

“Uh… is that really a good idea?” Mist hesitated, still a little spooked. What if it was some kind of trap?

“C’mon, we gotta go back. Big Ears is still back there. We’re not the kind of guys who just ditch a brother and run, right?” Shrimpy said, trying to rally them.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right!” the other two nodded quickly, totally agreeing.

So they stopped running and cautiously made their way back, nerves on edge the whole time, half-expecting an ambush.

The black mist Mist had released earlier was starting to thin out now.

Bodies began to appear on the ground—scattered everywhere, blood pooling, the corpses twisted in brutal, ugly deaths.

But what really caught their attention was the sight of Diesel, the vicious American Bully. His skull was shattered, his Neurocore ripped out—dead as dead could be.

“They’re all dead?” The three of them stared, stunned, not sure what the hell had happened.

“Look!” Shrimpy gasped, pointing ahead.

The other two quickly followed his gaze—and there, walking toward them, was a zombie figure. Big floppy ears, a nasty gash on his forehead with blood trickling down—no doubt about it, it was Big Ears.

Seeing the shock on their faces, Big Ears glanced around at the carnage, then shrugged casually. “Ahem. Took care of it.”

“Big Ears, you seriously wiped them all out?” Shrimpy blurted out, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“Of course,” Big Ears said, puffing up a little. “Those little punks thought they could ambush me? Please. They were asking for it.”

“How’d you pull it off?” Mist asked, wide-eyed.

Big Ears waved him off, acting all mysterious. “Don’t worry about it.”

Mist’s eyes locked onto the nasty wound on Big Ears’ forehead, blood still oozing out. It looked brutal.

“You’re hurt?”

“Hurt? Nah, man, this is a badge of honor!” Big Ears said, totally unfazed.

“Damn, that’s badass!” The three of them were seriously impressed. They’d thought for sure Big Ears was either dead or at least torn to shreds. Instead, he was standing there with just a scratch, while Bighead’s whole crew was wiped out.

“Big Ears, you’re actually the real deal, huh?” Shrimpy said, half in awe.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Big Ears shot him a look. “You think I was faking it all this time?”

“No, no, of course not! Oh, right—what about Bighead? What happened to him?” Shrimpy suddenly remembered to ask.

At the mention of Bighead, Big Ears let out a long sigh and shook his head.

“Man… it was brutal…”

…

At that moment, Bighead was a mess—his whole body engulfed in flames, rolling down the slope, tumbling a good distance before crashing onto the ground. He writhed in agony, his body twisted up in pain, struggling like hell.

“Goddamn it! Burned again!” Bighead cursed inwardly. The flames unleashed by the Awakener were way hotter than regular gasoline fires—these weren’t the kind of flames you could just roll around and put out.

If this kept up, he was gonna get roasted alive.

And to make it worse, that damn group of humans was already making their way down the slope. No way they were gonna let him off easy.

“Raaaghhh—!” Bighead let out a furious, desperate roar, the searing pain and hopelessness boiling over.

“Yo, still got some fight in you, huh?” Chris said with a smirk when he saw Bighead wasn’t dead yet. With a sharp shing, he drew his machete, ready to finish the job.

“Time to bag myself a Zombie King today!”

He started walking toward Bighead, lifting the machete as he went.

But Mia’s eyes narrowed. She stared off into the sky, catching sight of a small black speck hurtling toward them—fast. Like, insanely fast. In the blink of an eye, it grew larger, the air around it howling, sonic booms cracking like a fighter jet tearing through the sky.

“Watch out!” Mia shouted, yanking Chris back by the arm.

Chris stumbled, nearly falling over, just as a blast of wind slammed into them, whipping his hair sideways.

And then—Bighead was gone.

The spot where he’d been burning was now just scorched earth, empty.

“Where’d he go?!” Everyone looked around, stunned and confused.

Robert’s eyes shot upward. “Above us!”

Everyone immediately tilted their heads back, following his gaze—and there it was: a dark figure hovering in midair, massive bone wings spread wide, flapping slowly.

In his right hand, he was gripping a zombie—Bighead—charred black like a lump of coal, smoke still rising off him.

But from Bighead’s perspective, it felt like he’d just been yanked out of hell itself. He let out a long, shaky breath, finally feeling a sliver of relief.

“Whew… Hellhound, you got here just in time! A second later and I’d be barbecue!” Bighead said, his voice full of gratitude.

The newcomer was none other than Hellhound—one of San Diego’s infamous Four War Generals. His eyes were wild and savage, his face twisted into something that looked half-human, half-dog, covered in short, bristly fur. He was terrifying to look at.

Hellhound radiated pure, lethal menace—you could feel it in the air around him.

“I smell humans…” he growled, voice low and dangerous.

“Uh, Boss Hellhound, could you maybe… put me down first? I’m kinda hurt, and you’re crushing me here,” Bighead said weakly.

“Fine,” Hellhound grunted.

Without a second thought, he let go.

Bighead immediately plummeted, spinning through the air before slamming into the ground with a heavy THUD.

“Pffft!” Bighead spat out a mouthful of dirt, groaning. His burned body screamed in protest. Man, Boss Hellhound’s great and all, but damn, he’s a little too hardcore sometimes… he thought bitterly.

…

Meanwhile, Mia and the others were locked onto the figure in the sky, every muscle tense, like they were staring down death itself.

The pressure rolling off him was suffocating.

Chris’s voice was tight with nerves. “That’s… one of San Diego’s Four War Generals?”

“Yeah,” Robert confirmed grimly. “An S-Class Zombie King. He’s insanely strong.”

Everyone sucked in a sharp breath.

Just hearing “S-Class Zombie King” was enough to make their skin crawl. No wonder the guy felt so damn dangerous.

“He’s on a whole different level…” Jenny thought, her heart pounding. It was her first time facing a monster like this up close.

Hellhound grinned wide, his bloodlust practically dripping from his fangs.

“You pathetic little humans… you actually dared to come here…”

…

Here’s a redemption code for everyone: